Chapter 99: Chapter 99: You Can’t Eat Any More (Four Updates for Monthly Pass)

Facing the landlord who easily devoured the gold hunters, what could Liang Haiqing say? He just kept offering an apologetic smile; that was the right thing to do.

Henglong wasn’t to be underestimated—they had deep connections, but offending the person before him still required consideration of whether it was worth it or not.

“That’s good,” Feng Jun also nodded with a smile. “So…areyou interested in strengthening our partnership?”

“Of course, I’m interested,” Liang Haiqing smiled again, very happily this time, “Boss Feng, if you have any goods in the future, you must consider Henglong first.”

Without changing his expression, Feng Jun spoke, “Consider you first? No problem, I have goods right now… how much do you want?”

Liang Haiqing was immediately taken aback upon hearing this; he almost thought he’d misheard, “What did you just say, Boss Feng?”

“What I mean is…I have the goods,” Feng Jun said, smiling as he pointed to himself, “it’s just that I don’t know how much Henglong is planning to take?” “Take…how much?” Liang Haiqing’s eyes widened in shock. He felt that the other’s way of expressing might not be quite right.

Or perhaps it was his own ability to understand that was experiencing a slight problem; anyway, he wasn’t very clear about what he had just heard.

“You didn’t mishear,” Feng Jun said with a slight smile, “Those two pieces of jade were just to test the waters. I have a lot more of such goods.”

Liang Haiqing was stunned for quite some time, making sure that the other party wasn’t joking before he finally asked, “A lot…how much are we talking about?”

“How much?” Feng Jun scratched his chin, pondering for a moment before cautiously replying, “More than your Henglong can handle.”

“Henglong can’t handle it, isn’t that normal?” Liang Haiqing said with a bitter smile, spreading his hands, “Buying these three pieces of jade didn’t leave us with much liquidity.”

He was playing poor here—what businessperson doesn’t?

In fact, it was quite easy for Henglong to raise a few billion now, but that would come with its costs.

Feng Jun didn’t concern himself with the truth of the other’s words, he just shook his head, “Alright, my description wasn’t quite accurate. What I mean is…ten Henglongs wouldn’t be able to handle my stock.”

What a joke, behind him stood the support of an entire plane of existence. Initially, he wanted to say that not even a hundred Henglongs could handle his stock, but he swallowed the words back, as doing business required a low profile.

But as soon as Liang Haiqing heard this, he was flabbergasted, hardly able to believe what he was hearing and asking incredulously, “Do you have any idea how large Henglong’s scale is?”

Feng Jun shook his head briskly, “I don’t know.”

You dare to talk nonsense without knowing? Liang Haiqing became furious, feeling greatly disrespected.

However, in the next moment, he stood frozen, perplexed. Those who talked big without even knowing the details of Henglong must certainly have their reasons.

As for what those reasons were, it was obvious without asking, “Your…jade stones, do you really have a lot?”

“More than you could imagine,” Feng Jun replied with a light laugh, “How could I boast without that confidence?”

However, for Liang Haiqing, the issue was no longer about boasting or not. This implied a huge change was about to happen.

He looked at the other party with shock, “Do you really have a smuggling channel?”

“Boss Liang, you’re making it sound so unpleasant,” Feng Jun’s face turned stern as he looked at him unhappily, “I only deal with selling jade. These are all mined from our own mines; I have no idea about any smuggling channels.” “Jade mines?” Boss Liang’s eyes rolled around, “How’s the output, can it compare to any of the mines in Myanmar or Xijiang?”

“Heh,” Feng Jun laughed coldly, “I’m not familiar with those mines, but isn’t Myanmar’s old pit about mined out by now?”

He tried hard to control his urge to show off, making it seem more casual than it was.

However, having scrapped his way through society for over twenty years, Liang Haiqing’s shrewdness was not something the average person could match.

He immediately caught the implication behind Feng’s words, and with a thoughtful look, he asked, “Are you implying that your high-quality jade stones are even more abundant than those from the old pits in Myanmar?”

Feng Jun shook his head, a faint smile on his lips, “Heh, I never said that.”

However, as shallow as his smile was, the undeniable sense of pride from within could not be hidden in any way.

But Boss Liang’s expression became serious, “No jokes, I’m asking you a serious question. Your answer is very important to me, and it could even have a huge impact on the entire jade market of Zhengyang City.”

Upon hearing this, Feng was momentarily taken aback, the smile freezing on his face.

The jade he had brought back this time wasn’t much; aside from the two pieces he had already sold, there were about a dozen more hidden in a storage room of his villa. He was intent on selling all these jade stones, organizing all the various matters here, and then going there to strive for success.

But Boss Liang’s words sounded an alarm bell for him, cooling his heated brain, prompting him to calm down and think.

Cooling down, that’s a good thing. He had set a small goal for himself, to make one billion as quickly as possible, and only now did he realize that he truly needed to plan for the future.

So, he looked around and said, “Are you worried that flooding Zhengyang with my goods will disrupt Zhengyang’s market?”

“What do you mean ‘will’ disrupt the market? It is certain to disrupt the market!” Liang Haiqing looked at Feng Jun and grimaced as he spread his hands, “If I had known you had so much stock, I wouldn’t have been in such a rush to buy those two pieces.”

The 38 million that Henglong shelled out caused heartache too because that was a premium acquisition; even the landlord’s family had no surplus grain.

But there was no other way; the supply was tight. This year, the jade market had seen an increase of at least twenty percent compared to last year, and high-end supplies were even tighter.

Moreover, without paying a premium, there really was no option; didn’t you see that even the store manager from Li Dafu came chasing after Henglong?

If Henglong hesitated even slightly, that jade might no longer belong to them.

If Liang Haiqing had known that Feng Jun had other goods in hand, he would not have bid so desperately. From a strategic perspective, he would not have ruled out the possibility of giving up those two pieces of jade.

Feng Jun certainly wouldn’t feel sorry for Henglong, but he also realized that he faced a new problem, “Are you saying… that Zhengyang, as large as it is, can’t absorb this amount of jade?”

“It can certainly absorb it,” Liang Haiqing grimaced again, “The spending power of Zhengyang people is very strong, but jade is not a consumable nor a daily necessity, it is just a luxury item for decoration… Zhengyang people rarely spend on jade.”

In simple terms, his point was that the people of Zhengyang had not yet developed the habit of spending on jade. To cultivate this habit, guidance over a long period would be needed, likely measured in decades.

Secondly, the user group for luxury goods is not very large, and although the absolute number is not small, jade is not like perfume that you buy more when you run out, and depreciation is not an issue.

Zhengyang has a population of over nine million, and every day there are new and existing consumers buying jade, but the absolute number is not that large.

Liang Haiqing even suggested that the jewelry industry is carefully maintaining market conditions and a fragile balance.

If Feng Jun were to enter the market strongly, it could very well upset this balance.

Of course, Liang Haiqing also said that he is optimistic about the future development of the jewelry industry. Just imagine, if one day every woman had a pair of jade bracelets and a few small jade pendants, and the men drank with jade cups, what a sight that would be.

While the vision sounds a bit fantastical and it’s unclear when it could become a reality, what is certain is that if that day does come—or even if it just meets half of the expectations—the price of natural jade would undoubtedly skyrocket.

In summary, the prospects are bright, but the road is winding.

After listening for a while, Feng Jun finally caught on, “Are you hoping that I don’t sell too much jade?”

“You can sell it, other places might even hoard it,” Liang Haiqing replied with a wry smile, “It’s just that we don’t know how much jade you have. But let me advise you, when you distribute jade in Zhengyang, don’t exceed five billion a year… Otherwise, you will become the public enemy of the industry.”

The entire jewelry trade of Zhengyang City could not possibly have only five billion worth of jade materials entering the market each year. What Boss Liang was referring to was just the additional supply from the channel Feng Jun provided.

An additional five billion worth of materials reflected in the end market would require at least an extra seven or eight billion in sales to be absorbed.

And it’s not just Feng Jun who can create new markets; other forces could also get involved.

In Zhengyang’s jewelry industry, it was possible to hoard jade without impacting market prices and wait for the value to increase.

But Liang Haiqing took even this into account. He believed that if one did not consider this factor, supplying Zhengyang with three billion worth of jade materials a year would be the most prudent and would not cause market chaos.

Feng Jun was stunned for a while, taking in what was said, then he frowned, “The piece of Mutton-Fat Jade I sold to you later, you don’t seem to have plans to use it, right?”

Liang Haiqing indeed had no plans to use that piece of jade soon, so there was no need to count it in that five billion quota for now. However, he also said, Boss Feng, if you have a lot of jade like this at your disposal, eventually I will have to make use of it.

Now Feng finally understood, “What you mean is, I shouldn’t only sell jade in Zhengyang, right?”

“Not just in Zhengyang, you should probably move out of Funiu Province,” Liang Haiqing stated bluntly, “In Funiu’s jade trade, Zhengyang accounts for more than sixty percent. It’s a waste of time and riskier to go further down to other cities.”

As for the risks, Feng Jun was quite aware. While it’s commonly said that domestic order is good and walking around in the middle of the night is safe, that’s only because no substantial interests are involved.

If there were significant interests at stake, one wouldn’t be safe even at home, let alone out at night.

In Feng’s hometown’s small county, there had been several such incidents, including one family that lived not far from his home.

This family was quite well-liked, but the old man had a habit of showing off about his son who had immigrated to the United States. One day he’d talk about what his son had sent from there, and the next day something else. And sure enough, that family spent money lavishly.

Then, one night, the family of four was wiped out, their house turned upside down.

The case remains unsolved to this day.

(Four updates today, and just two days left until the New Year’s double points event ends. Those with monthly tickets, please cast them now.)